Io ho paura

As to be expected, the beautifully acted, superbly immersive crime drama, 'Io ho paura' (1977) is yet another refined, strongly written, engagingly adult thriller from the hugely respected Italian auteur, Damiano Damiani, whose staggeringly classy output of immaculately made Gialli/poliziotteschi tends to focus intelligently on narrative nuance, probing deeper into character development, and moral complexities, rather than merely exploiting the more visceral approach of haymaker fisticuffs, car-carnage, and balletic blood spills to maintain the viewer's interest.

Disenfranchised, visibly shop-worn Bodyguard, Ludovico Graziano, played to perfection by the enormously charismatic actor, Gian Maria Volontè gradually finds his life spiralling into ever murkier, increasingly dangerous waters after fatefully accepting the far from routine position of bodyguard to Judge Cancedda (Erland Josephson). The internecine political squabbles eventually escalate to palpable life threatening dread whereby Graziano is forced to confront a truly terrifying reality! 'Io ho Paura' aka 'I am Afraid' (1977) is a damn fine motion picture, and one desperately in need of a brand-new restoration for a long overdue Blu-ray edition. It would be entirely remiss of me if I failed to mention the lushly appealing, extraordinarily effective, skin-caressingly lovely score by the incomparable music maestro, Riz Ortolani.

This is what I call a movie, and not any movie, but Hard Caliber! Volontè is a policeman, as in the "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion"(1970), but this time he's a totally different kind of cop. You must watch both films one after another to understand why Volontè is the greatest actor of all time. The characters, though both cops, are diametrically opposed. In "Investigation...", he is the super-intelligent but evil and fearless cop, who commits a murder only to prove himself how idiotic is the whole Italian police-justice system, rotten to the core by the mafia. In "I Am Afraid" he is also a very smart cop, but who is this time just a fearful good, too good man. Because he's working for the same Italian police-justice system rotten to the core by the mafia, and he is afraid for his own life, he is forced to kill, even he doesn't want to. It is Damiani's best film and one of the best movies ever made. Damiani also worked with the genius called Volontè in another masterpiece, "A Bullet for the General". All actors are exceptional. Especially Ingmar Bergman's favorite, Erland Josephson, and the favorite of many international directors, the brilliant Mario Adorf. Angelica Ippolito, in the role of Gloria, Volontè's girlfriend, is more than compelling. Great cinematography by Luigi Kuveiller and great music by Riz Ortolani. This movie deserves all the possible stars, unfortunately, 10 are the maximum...

This film is Damiano Damiani's finest "mafia-film". He directed several movies of the crime-thriller-subgenre, which are all very interesting, but this one is a true masterpiece, with Gian Maria Volonté touchingly convincing as a policeman who uncovers corruption and begins to live in great fear for his life.

Mario Adorf is cool as always as a suspect attorney, and Damiani increases tension perfectly until the riveting climax. The realistic film is also very melancholy in a way, which makes it even more believable.

While Enzo G. Castellari's superb "La Polizia Incrimina, la Legge Assolve" is the crown of the Italian poliziotteschi (police thrillers) of the 1970s, this highly recommended film is the same for the Italian "mafia-film" of that period.

"Io ho paura" means "I am scared"... It is a terrific movie which tries to summarize some of the totally real (despite the disclaimer at the titles end, significantly put below the main title "I am scared"...) links between secret services, criminality & politics. This link we now know, has been real throughout the 70's and is not just alive now, but more complex, as it appears that it now includes also banks, mafia and masonry. Gian Maria Volonte' gives one of his best performances, playing the scared policeman who unwillingly becomes aware of secrets which he perfectly knows might lead him to his death. Riz Ortolani's score is as usual perfect. Damiano Damiani direction is secure as the movie never drops its rhythm and the ending is tough, but a great one. Damiani will later direct the serial on mafia called "PIOVRA", a huge success in Italy and abroad in the 80s. "Io ho paura" is a fantastic and unknown movie with tension, great acting, a perfect score and an alarming accusation message, still real, on the deviation of our society. 10/10

Damiano Damiani perhaps isn't the first name that springs to mind when listing all the greatest Italian action/cult directors of the 70's, but he definitely does deserve all the respect he can get. Whilst his more famous colleagues, like Umberto Lenzi and Enzo G. Castellari, were shooting Poliziotteschi flicks that were brimful of outrageous car chases, violent gunfights and shocking massacres, Damiani concentrated on making a handful of heavy-toned mafia thrillers that were relatively low on violence but benefited from extremely solid screenplays and realistic settings. After the tremendously compelling "Confessions of a Police Captain" and "How to Kill a Judge" – both starring Franco Nero – Damiano made this "I Am Afraid"; which is arguably his best effort and inarguably one of the most intense police thrillers ever made. The plot is rather convoluted and continuously introduces new characters, so you definitely have to pay close attention and remain alert for all the little twists, but even if you don't understand all the connections straight away (like I did), "I Am Afraid" nevertheless remains a truly compelling and suspenseful thrill-ride that you find yourself staring at with your eyes and mouth wide open. Ludovico Graziano is an adequate police officer who gets assigned as the personal bodyguard of Judge Cancedda, because with the powerful crime networks and corruption going on in the city lately, a lot of judges are being assassinated. The more time Graziano spends with the honest Judge Cancedda, the more he becomes involved in a highly life-threatening manhunt. "I Am Afraid" has practically everything a cult movie fanatic could be looking for: a deeply melancholic ambiance that makes the whole story plausible and very bitter-tasting, dubious authority figure characters, some genuine moments of violence (the elimination of the female witness through her window is a real shock), a mesmerizing denouement, a masterful Riz Ortolani score and dazzling acting performances. Gian Maria Volonté is truly amazing as the drowning copper who increasingly fears – with good reason – for his own life. Inspector Graziano is everything but a coward, but he righteously grows more afraid because there isn't anyone he can trust in his police surrounding. Volonté truly manages to translate this difficult-to-act emotion onto the viewer very well. He also receives excellent support, especially in the second half of the film, from the bombastic Italian acting legend Mario Adorf. "I Am Afraid" is undeservedly obscure and should urgently receive a proper and luxurious DVD edition, so that the many Poliziotteschi fans can add it to their favorites.